There have been few studies, until now, that examined how workers feel about the adequacy of their skills. A survey of employees was released last week that provides strong confirmation of the notion that employees need better skills to do their jobs well, especially skills related to technology.
Continue reading… “Udemy survey finds workers don’t have the skills they need – and they know it”
Sugar substitutes might be exacerbating metabolic disease.
Artificial sweeteners have widely been seen as a way to combat obesity and diabetes, but according to a new study, the sugar substitutes could, in part, be contributing to the global epidemic of these conditions.
Continue reading… “Artificial sweeteners have been linked to obesity: Study”
Smart cites tap into technology and social experiments.
Cities are becoming the focal point for policy and investment activities that drive economic growth and build more resilient social structures to address disasters, climate change, and healthcare. The ongoing financial crisis has prompted city managers globally to think about ways to achieve greater efficiencies and compete against other cities and regions for talent and business.
Continue reading… “Building the next generation of smart cities”
If we could make the process more efficient, scientists estimate we could increase yields by 36 to 60 percent.
What if we ended up with 50% more rice and wheat by using the same amount of water and fertilizer? Sound impossible? No, just some chemistry and genetic engineering. Scientists have recently figured out the second of three steps to make photosynthesis a whole lot more efficient in plants.
Continue reading… “Scientists reinventing photosynthesis to feed the world”
Larry Page
Larry Page’s ambitions are huge. He has Google working on self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, robots, aging, and drones. At Google, they call these efforts moonshots.
We have been talking about how much solar panels increase the value of your home for years. We use a simple calculation to determine the increase in value: We add the energy savings you’ll see per year for 20 years. Well, it looks like we’re not just blowing solar smoke; study after study after study comparing sales of solar and non-solar houses show clearly that homes—even near-identical homes in the same community—sell for more with solar. But we know you don’t want to read a 200-page PDF to find out, so we’ve collected some of the most important information below.
Continue reading… “Are homes with solar worth more than non-solar homes?”
NIBIB Bionic Man
The “NIBIB Bionic Man” is an interactive Web tool that showcases cutting-edge research in biotechnology that has recently been launched by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The bionic man features 14 technologies currently being developed by NIBIB-supported researchers.
Continue reading… “Interactive Bionic Man features 14 novel biotechnologies”
Wildpoldsried produces 500% more energy than it needs.
Wildpoldsried, Germany, a Bavarian village of about 2,600 residents, is leading the way in Germany’s extraordinary renewable energy transformation. The village has invested in a holistic range of renewable energy projects over the past 17 years that include 4,983 kWp of photovoltaics, five biogas facilities, 11 wind turbines and a hydropower system. As a result, the village has gone beyond energy independence – and it now produces 500% more energy than it needs and profits from sales of the surplus power back to the grid.
Typical house-bot shopping on a budget
Futurist Thomas Frey: The year is 2027 and Winston, a newly born house-bot charged with doing a number of domestic chores including cleaning, meal prep, laundry, and building maintenance, has been programmed to not only perform the work, but also restock supplies once they reach a certain level.
Continue reading… “Should Robots Have Their Own Bank Accounts?”
The East River Skyway
If you have ever commuted between Brooklyn and Manhattan, you’re already familiar with the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s overcrowding problem. But what if you could skip the train entirely? A radical new proposal suggests that New Yorkers try a high-speed gondola over the East River instead.
Continue reading… “New Yorkers propose high-speed gondolas to ease congestion”
The humanized gene actually improved the animal’s behavior rather than messing up the system.
According to a new study, mice that receive a human version of a speech and language gene display accelerated learning. Don’t expect these findings to lead to a rush of smarter, “uplifted” animals—though they might just reveal something new and fascinating about the evolution of human speech and language.
Continue reading… “A mouse with a human speech gene learns faster”
LittleBits has just announced something called the BitLab, a contest merged with a crowd sourced technology system that allows inventors to create new LittleBits blocks, upload them, and have them made and sold by the company. The system also includes a hardware development kit that allows anyone access to LittleBits’ custom magnetic snap-together leads. (Videos)
Continue reading… “LittleBits’ BitLab is an app store for hardware”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.